BARLAAM Simone

Classification
S9, SB8, SM9 (IPC, 12 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)

Impairment Details
He was born with a malformation of the hip and congenital hypoplasia of the right femur, which prevents the limb from developing properly. (iitaly.org, 12 Feb 2019; vanityfair.it, 12 Dec 2017)

General
YEAR DOWN UNDER
In 2017 he spent a year in Sydney, NSW, Australia, where he continued his high school studies, learned English and prepared for the 2017 World Championships in Mexico City, Mexico. "The turning point in my life was spending my year 11 of high school in Australia. It was the first time I had left home, my parents, my sister, and Italy. I went to a country on the other side of the world where I didn't know anyone. Spending a year overseas was a dream I'd had since I was a child. Leaving my comfort zone helped me grow as a person and start understanding how to achieve things. It opened my mind up. Now I define myself as a citizen of the world." (paralympic.org, 28 Mar 2019; ilgiorno.it, 22 Dec 2017; alleyoop.ilsole24ore.com, 21 Dec 2017; vanityfair.it, 12 Dec 2017)

JOURNALIST FATHER
His father Riccardo works as a journalist and made a documentary named 'I Pesci Combattenti' [The Fighting Fish] about the Italian Para swimming team in the lead-up to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "The film introduced a lot of people to Italian Para swimmers, and now I am one of them," Simone said. (paralympic.org, 18 Oct 2019)

EDUCATION AND FUTURE CAREER
He hopes to become a prosthetic designer through his studies of mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy. "I would like to become a mechanical engineer, and help create prostheses for various types of impairments. One of my dreams is to design the lightest prosthetic." He also plans to use his love for drawing in his future profession. "I'd like to publish a graphic novel or an illustration book. Now [in 2020] it is my way to reach nirvana, to isolate myself in a bubble. When I'm alone with the paper, I detach myself from the world." (Paralympic Games YouTube channel, 30 Sep 2020; corriere.it, 18 Mar 2020; vanityfair.it, 12 Nov 2020)